Visions - January 2007Click a headline below to view articles:
Taking the Lead in Funding Essential CREDIT UNION Research Into Financial Needs of Young AdultsPSCU Financial Services has renewed its multi-year commitment to the Filene Research Institute to help fund research that will help the credit union industry attract and retain young adults/young families. Three years ago, PSCU Financial Services became the Institute’s first Chairman’s Benefactor supporter and since then other organizations have followed its lead. The cooperative contributed $250,000 over the past three years, and has made a second three-year commitment for an additional $250,000.So far the research has yielded several reports, available on Filene’s web site (www.filene.org), that discuss how credit unions can reach out to help young adults. According to these reports, this generation values speed and often considers only one source for financing. For instance, most don’t know that credit unions offer mortgages and rely upon realtors to recommend financing. Additional reports that discuss the behaviors and characteristics of this generation are also available.Attracting and retaining younger members is critical to the credit union industry, since the average age of its members is 47. The under-30 segment of the population will re-shape the financial services industry due to its size and borrowing/banking needs.“We believe the knowledge gained from this long-term partnership with Filene Institute will have a lasting effect on the industry,” said David J. Serlo, President, PSCU Financial Services. “It is our desire wherever possible to help fund efforts that benefit the industry as a whole and to support the collection and distribution of information that assist credit unions in making strategic decisions that assure success for many years to come.”TopNip N' TuckJust in time for the New Year, our
members-only users’ website, Log on to www.pscufs.com and
click through to MemberConnect Offer Online Bill Payment With ConfidencePSCU Financial Services Offers 24/7 Live Monitoring of FraudNet AlertsThanks to PSCU Financial Services’ commitment to the highest levels of security management, your credit union can offer online bill payment with confidence. Through the cooperative’s partnership with CheckFree, PayLynx subscribers gain the protection of FraudNet, an automated bill payment fraud detection and prevention solution. Every online bill payment flows through FraudNet prior to being processed, allowing potentially fraudulent transactions to be identified and stopped before they are sent to the biller. A broad range of metrics are used to identify suspicious payments, including the identity of the user’s computer and the IP address, geographical location, the biller’s information and prior transaction behaviors. In addition, PSCU Financial Services experienced fraud representatives will review of all fraud alerts. The reps may place calls to a credit union or an individual bill payment subscriber to validate a payment or other information. If a payment is determined to be fraudulent, the representative will cancel the payment and may deactivate the bill pay account, if warranted by the investigation. Examples of transactions that would trigger a fraud alert are:
FraudNet complies with the FFIEC’s guidance for multi-factor authentication, and is a required solution for a dual sign-on (DSO) environment. All payments for PayLynx dual sign-on clients began flowing through FraudNet in November. FraudNet is an optional security enhancement for credit union’s processing in a single sign-on (SSO) environment. For more information, please contact Leslie Reistrup at 800-443-7728 extension 2506 or lreistrup@pscufs.com. Simplify Credit Balance RefundingThe Credit Balance Refund Solution from PSCU Financial Services eliminates the manual intervention and processing associated with returning credit balances to your credit cardholders. Here’s how it works – we will systematically generate a file listing all accounts with a credit balance after two billing cycles without any activity. Credit union-branded letters and refund checks will be automatically generated and mailed to the designated cardholders. It’s that simple! To enroll now, and eliminate manual processing contact your Account Executive. Distinguish Debit With RewardsThe signature debit card program at Novartis Federal Credit Union of East Hanover, N.J., rewards both its cardholders and the credit union through the use of CURewards™ from PSCU Financial Services. The credit union also offers PIN debit cards that do not carry rewards.
“CURewards is a critical element in our top-performing DebitAdvantage program. It offers an excellent mix of travel and merchandise rewards that are easy to redeem, and the program generates income and increased member satisfaction and loyalty that more than pays for the cost of offering rewards,” said Charles Setteducato, Vice President, Novartis Federal Credit Union.
As part of the CURewards program, debit cardholders earn 1 point for every $5 in transactions. The program is continuously being updated with new features and currently offers a wide range of travel and brand name merchandise including high-end electronics and top-quality housewares. The rewards platform also allows cardholders to redeem points for credit union products and services, which simultaneously builds loyalty by deepening member relationships through the marketing of other credit union services. “More than 200 credit unions representing 6 million debit accounts contract with our cooperative for processing services,” said Ron Silvia, Director, Debit Sevices, PSCU Financial Services. “Participation in Debit CURewards continues to grow as credit unions use our fully featured rewards program to differentiate their debit card offering and promote member loyalty, as well as greater activation and usage rates.” TopAsk And You Will Receive… FeedbackTo understand your cardholder’s needs you have to solicit their feedback. Cardholder Dialogue Solution allows your financial institution to ask up to three customized multiple-response questions to cardholders who call into PSCU Financial Services’ Contact Center. Cardholder Dialogue Solution is completely customizable, allowing your financial institution to select which cardholders to engage in the survey and what specifically you want to learn from them. Once the representative has satisfied the reason for the cardholder’s call, he will ask your pre-identified cardholder the customized survey questions and systematically record the responses. Viewing the bi-weekly reports via MemberConnect enables you to track progress and monitor cardholder responses throughout the survey period. Whether you want to measure cardholder satisfaction, loyalty, or a new product
concept, Cardholder Dialogue is the solution for you. Don’t waste any more
time guessing about what your cardholders want, contact your
Account Executive today and begin using Cardholder Growth Strategies Generate Higher BalancesAffinity Plus Federal Credit Union of St. Paul, Minn., boosted After surveying members, Affinity Plus FCU created a new credit program that involves a ‘one-card’ concept that delivers flexibility and customization to the individual member. The credit union implemented Account Level Processing, which evaluates cardholder account characteristics and behavior and automatically adjusts pricing at the account level. This program rewards loyalty and improves service with flexible, dynamic pricing. The credit union also added the popular CURewards™ program from PSCU Financial Services, since a rewards program was at the top of members’ wish lists. In addition, the staff at Affinity Plus FCU partnered with PSCU Financial Services’ AdvisorsPlus specialists to develop a plan for expanding the credit program while simultaneously addressing the credit union’s unique member needs. Along with adding rewards and other features, the credit union also launched a credit line increase. “We have worked for years at building trusting relationships with our members, so we knew we could not execute a mass credit line increase the typical way,” stated Kyle Markland, Affinity Plus FCU President and CEO. The credit union reviewed line increases at the branch level, so that branch staff could decide what was right for their local members. Offers for credit line increases were delivered to more than 15,000 members. Each offer included the option to decline the increase, but the credit union’s member-focused approach resulted in a decline rate of just 1 percent. “Our AdvisorsPlus specialists worked closely with Affinity Plus’ staff to develop a visionary plan to expand the success of the credit card program in accordance with their member-first philosophy. This plan involved a combination of promotions and services that deliver continuous improvements and greater member satisfaction and loyalty,” said Tom Chandler, Director of Strategic Portfolio Consulting, PSCU Financial Services. The AdvisorsPlus consulting service combines best practices concepts and technology with intelligence gained from working alongside credit unions nationwide. Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union has over $1 billion in assets and 126,000 members. 2007 Member Forum Offers Special CEO TrackGreat Location for Family Fun
The 2007 Member Forum on April 25-27 in Williamsburg, Va., promises to be PSCU Financial Services’ most dynamic annual meeting to date.
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MemberConnect has a new look
and feel. We’ve reorganized the
Novartis’ debit program has consistently outperformed industry averages: 63 percent of its signature debit
accounts are active, compared to the industry average of 54 percent; and its average transaction of $63.01 surpasses the industry average by 50 percent.
outstanding credit balances by $2 million ahead of the 2006 holiday season by redesigning its credit program to address member needs.
